I am pleased to announce that Professor Joe Bowersox of the Department of Environmental Science has accepted the position of Director of International Education for Willamette and will be working with the excellent staff of the Office of International Education to sustain and expand our international programming throughout the university. Joe brings great international experience and administrative expertise to the position and will provide strong leadership and vision.
Joe came to Willamette in 1993, teaching in both the Politics (now PPLE) and Environmental Science departments. He will continue to do some teaching in his new role. Since 2007, Joe has held the Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics, and will continue to hold that chair.
Joe's numerous publications have been in areas including environmental ethics, water policy, forestry and endangered species management, and international education for sustainability. He took a leave in 2002-03 to work in the US Senate on federal forestry policy for Oregon's senior senator. His work with Zena Forest, the University Sustainability Council, and numerous college, university, city and state committees has demonstrated his administrative talent.
In the international realm, Joe studied abroad in Germany as an undergraduate and in South Korea as a graduate student. He has taught in the American Studies Program summer session for TIUA and in the Open Lecture program at Tokyo International University. He also co-led the Sustainability Post-Session in Japan for 5 years. He has led faculty delegations in China and in Jordan, and his research in forest science has led to ongoing work in Germany, Switzerland, and Czechia. Most recently he has helped to establish the new ILACA (Independent Liberal Arts Colleges Abroad) program in New Zealand, which is administered through Willamette.
In short, Joe has a remarkable set of interests, experiences. and skills that prepare him to be an extraordinary Director of International Education, and I look forward to working with him! I know you all will also congratulate him on this change in role and will help him and the OIE staff to enhance and expand our global focus and connections.
